"Going Viral"
This past Saturday, I got zapped by a bug that put me in a full-body moan for almost 48 hours. It was about as sick as I've been in several years. Then almost as suddenly as it hit me, it went away in time for the first day back to school. I don't know if it was a virus or what, but I've heard other reports of it in our circles, so it's going around.
When it comes to our health, we don't want to "go viral." But when it comes to internet moments of fame, it's not always a bad thing.
As you know, "going viral" is a 21st Century cyber-space term referring to a video-clip that is so funny or shocking or clever or adorable or appalling that millions of people want to send it to a friend or post it on their personal site. This "desire to spread something" is really an interesting topic in and of itself, and much research has already begun on just why and how it happens.
We do know that bad news tends to spread faster than good news, but we can all be thankful that The Good News has never stopped spreading since that story broke.
[Side note: I've never had anything "go viral" at Patterns of Ink Youtube , but it has been amazing to track the interest in that Thailand trip. Other than this story about the hut (4,286 hits), it's the video with the blood that has gotten the most hits (3,354). (Followed by this one (3,300), which may be due to the song.]
Most things in life just don't muster enough immediate reaction to spread like... well, like a virus. And like viruses, it's hard to predict the next thing that will spread for our entertainment. But allow me to introduce you to a funny guy on Youtube who calls himself Uncle Jay. The post below was published in mid December and quickly received over 100,000 hits. That's good, but it does not qualify as "going viral."
Then on December 22, he posted this "Year-in-review singing episode" and hit gold. It DID go viral and is quickly approaching 7 MILLION hits since December 22. I don't know who Uncle Jay is or what his leanings are, but he doesn't seem to be as mean-spirited as many satirists, and I think most would agree after viewing some of his episodes at Uncle Jay's Youtube channel that he is a smart, funny, observer of current events and human nature who may just have a future in this new on-line gig he has launched.
This is the episode that went viral...
Next "Unsettled" chapter coming later this week...
When it comes to our health, we don't want to "go viral." But when it comes to internet moments of fame, it's not always a bad thing.
As you know, "going viral" is a 21st Century cyber-space term referring to a video-clip that is so funny or shocking or clever or adorable or appalling that millions of people want to send it to a friend or post it on their personal site. This "desire to spread something" is really an interesting topic in and of itself, and much research has already begun on just why and how it happens.
We do know that bad news tends to spread faster than good news, but we can all be thankful that The Good News has never stopped spreading since that story broke.
[Side note: I've never had anything "go viral" at Patterns of Ink Youtube , but it has been amazing to track the interest in that Thailand trip. Other than this story about the hut (4,286 hits), it's the video with the blood that has gotten the most hits (3,354). (Followed by this one (3,300), which may be due to the song.]
Most things in life just don't muster enough immediate reaction to spread like... well, like a virus. And like viruses, it's hard to predict the next thing that will spread for our entertainment. But allow me to introduce you to a funny guy on Youtube who calls himself Uncle Jay. The post below was published in mid December and quickly received over 100,000 hits. That's good, but it does not qualify as "going viral."
Then on December 22, he posted this "Year-in-review singing episode" and hit gold. It DID go viral and is quickly approaching 7 MILLION hits since December 22. I don't know who Uncle Jay is or what his leanings are, but he doesn't seem to be as mean-spirited as many satirists, and I think most would agree after viewing some of his episodes at Uncle Jay's Youtube channel that he is a smart, funny, observer of current events and human nature who may just have a future in this new on-line gig he has launched.
This is the episode that went viral...
Next "Unsettled" chapter coming later this week...
posted by .Tom Kapanka | 6:15 AM
4 Comments:
Good videos. I hope you are continuing to feel better.
Hi, FM,
Boy-howdy was I sick. Fever, chills, aching bones and organs, (and worse,but I'll stop there).
All the ladies in my house (which is everyone but the dog) were taking good care of me but not without comments about how men are wimps when they get sick. They're probably right, but we haven't had quite the same training regimen as women.
48 hours later I felt just fine.
Hi Tom! Just wanted to thank you for the great quotes, as always. I am soooooo behind in my blogging with the Holidays and now both kids' birthdays in January. Speaking of "spreading", what little time I do spend on the computer these days has been devoted to being on Facebook. Don't know if you're familiar with that, but it is beyond addicting and seems to have spread like wildfire with my peers lately. Maybe your daughters partake? Anyway, I swore I'd never get 'sucked in' and now I'm afraid it's too late!
Julie in CO,
I think Facebook recently "spread" from college kids to high school kids and then to adults, because like you said, my girls do use it, but about a month ago my Julie opened a facebook account and she, too, is pretty active on it when she has time to sit and visit with friends.
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